DoD News

News Article

Helicopter Mishap Hurts 2 Soldiers; Iraqis Stop Syrian Terrorist

WASHINGTON, Aug. 13, 2005  Two U.S. soldiers were injured as a result of a helicopter accident that occurred near Kirkuk, Iraq, on Aug. 12.

The injured soldiers were evacuated to a coalition forces medical facility. The incident is under investigation.

Elsewhere in Iraq, police detained and later arrested a Syrian man in Samawah Aug. 12. After questioning, the Syrian admitted to traveling to Iraq to carry out a suicide attack during a planned demonstration on Aug. 14.

Also, Iraqi soldiers on patrol in Diwaniyah Aug. 12 discovered improvised explosive devices that had been placed near the Najaf Road.

Responding to a tip about a suspected IED in the area, the 8th Iraqi Army Division soldiers found six rockets near an abandoned bridge in the Nooria area. The unexploded ordnance was safely removed. No injuries or damages were reported.

And Iraqi Army and U.S. soldiers teamed up to nab five suspected insurgents during a combined operation in Habbaniyah Aug. 12. Iraqi troops with 3rd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 1st Iraqi Intervention Force, and U.S. soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 110th Infantry Regiment, searched homes of suspected members in the area.

Coalition military advisers say the Iraqi soldiers performed well during the mission.

The cache consisted of two light machine guns and 3,000 rounds of ammunition, nine AK-47 automatic rifles and 500 rounds of ammunition, one NATO machine gun and 200 rounds of ammunition, four concussion grenades, one fragmentary grenade without fuses, and other ammunition. The weapons were confiscated for later disposal.

Soldiers with 1st Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army Division, conducted an early morning raid near Khalis resulting in nine suspects being detained. Three of them were on a targeted list.

In Khan Bani Saad, six suspects were detained following a raid designed to capture individuals believed to be involved in recent drive-by shootings. Task Force 2-34 and elements of the 4th Iraqi Army Division confiscated three AK-47s, two 9 mm pistols and one bus. The bus is suspected of being the vehicle used in the shootings.

And soldiers from the 1st Brigade, 4th Iraqi Army Division, in Bayji captured a possible escaped detainee the same day. The suspect was driving a dump truck at the time of his capture. This detainee is suspected of escaping from an Iraqi Army compound in Tikrit three months earlier.

Iraqi police and U.S. forces conducted a successful raid in Mosul Aug. 11. Iraqi police officers and soldiers with 1vst Battalion, 24th U.S. Infantry Regiment, found 12 rocket-propelled grenade rounds, six 60 mm mortar rounds and rifle shells during the raid. The munitions were turned over to an explosive ordnance disposal team. In another Mosul location that day, Iraqi police found another 16 RPG rounds and requested assistance for disposal.

Police officers in Baghdad are improving daily and responding to insurgent violence with more-focused investigations, keener planning and better-executed searches.

Iraqi Police Service officers in the New Baghdad District have recently conducted a variety of operations including raids involving over 450 officers. The raids were directed at 40 residences and resulted in the confiscation of 30 AK-47s, two handguns and one machine gun. Police arrested 30 suspected insurgents, three of whom were on police lists.

In addition, Baghdad police from the Al Khanssa Station captured a kidnapper involved in the abduction of a local physician whose family had paid a ransom to have the victim released. Following the arrest, police officers recovered the doctor's vehicle as well as the ransom money paid by his family.

No injuries or damages were reported during any of the Iraqi security force or U.S. military operations.